The trial of Dejuan Hammond, who is accused of hiring Steven Pettway to kill a witness in his brother's murder trial, now faces a jury himself in Louisville.

The trial of Dejuan Hammond, who is accused of hiring Steven Pettway to kill a witness in his brother's murder trial, now faces a jury himself in Louisville.

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Updated: 5:29 PM EDT Apr 9, 2014

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WEBVTT WAS MEANT ONLY FOR MEMBERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT. THE LOUISVILLE MAN ACCUSED OF HIRING SOMEONE TO KILL A WITNESS IN HIS BROTHER'S MURDER TRIAL NOW FACES A JURY HIMSELF. OPENING STATEMENTS WERE MADE TODAY IN DEJUAN HAMMOND'S TRIAL. HE'S ACCUSED OF KILLING TROYA SHECKLES. WLKY'S MARISSA ALTER IS LIVE FROM THE JUDICIAL CENTER WITH THE DEVELOPMENTS. MARISSA. VICKI.. HAMMOND'S TRIAL WAS SUPPOSED TO START BACK IN OCTOBER.. BUT PROSECUTORS DROPPED THE CHARGES AFTER THEY COULDN'T FIND TWO KEY WITNESSES. HE WAS RE-INDICTED IN JANUARY.. AND TODAY.. PROSECUTORS AND DEFENSE LAID OUT TO THE JURY WHAT THEY'LL HEAR OVER THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS. 7:50:55 this case involves a murder..a murder of a young woman..troya sheckles..a young woman sitting in a park..shelby park in 2009 TROYA SHECKLES WAS 31 AT THE TIME.. AT THE PARK WITH HER NIECE.. A FRIEND.. AND HER DOG.. IT WAS THE FIRST WARM DAY OF THE SEASON.. AND EVERYONE WAS OUTSIDE. 7:51:25 one thing you will not hear in this trial is that that man pulled the trigger. One stead what you will hear is that a 16 yr old named steven pettway was sent by dejuan Hammond to pull the trigger over and over as he unloaded a gun into troya sheckles SHECKLES WAS SET TO TESTIFY.. THOUGH RELUCTANTLY.. AGAINST DEUJUAN HAMMOND'S BROTHER..LLOYD HAMMOND.. IN HIS MURDER TRIALS. PROSECUTORS SAY IN ORDER TO PREVENT THAT.. PETTWAY SHOT HER FOUR TIMES IN THE BACK.. WITH A GUN FROM DEJUAN HAMMOND. 8:02:09 "It took the commonwealth exactly 59 minutes to come up with that theory of what happened " ..oh not all those details..not the statements you'll hear about ..not the refrsheing recollection THE DEFENSE SAYS POLICE TALKED TO SHECKLES' MOTHER AT THE CRIME SCENE.. THEY LATCHED ON TO DEJUAN HAMMOND AS RESPONSIBLE. 8:05:11 we talked in voir dire about confirmation bias..about reaching a conclusion and then runniinga police investigation to support that conclusion..that is exactly what happened here. SHOUSE SAYS THE PROSECUTION HAS NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE LINKING HAMMOND TO THE CRIME.. ONLY WHAT HE CALS "STREET TALK AND INNUENDO." HE ALSO ALLEGES POLICE AND THE ORIGINAL PROSECUTOR AT THE TIME..TOM VAN DE ROSTYNE.. COERCED WITNESSES INTO GIVING FALSE STATEMENTS .. IN ORDER TO MAKE THEIR CASE. THE WITNESSES WILL PROVE CRUCIAL TO THIS CASE.. ESPECIALLY BEC THIS IS A CASE ABOUT A WITNESS BEING KILLED. THE PROSECUTION WARNED THE JURY SOME PEOPLE ON THE STAND MAY NOT BE COOPERATIVE.. AND TO THINK ABOUT THOSE WITNESSES MOTIVATIONS WHEN ASSESSING WHAT THEY SAY. TESTIMONY PICKS UP HERE TOMORROW MORNING. REPORTING LIVE.. MA.. WLKY NEWS. STEVEN PETTWAY WAS CONVICTED OF TROYA SHECKLES MURDER LAST YEAR.. HE WAS SENTENCED TO 55 YEARS.. AND IS NOT EXPECTED TO

Trial begins for man accused of hiring teen to kill Troya Sheckles

The trial of Dejuan Hammond, who is accused of hiring Steven Pettway to kill a witness in his brother's murder trial, now faces a jury himself in Louisville.